New EU fuel tax to add £2.40 to a tank

A proposed European tax on petrol and diesel will charge motorists up to £27 per tonne of CO₂ emitted by their vehicle, an amount equivalent to an extra £2.40 on a tank of fuel.

The European Commission is seeking a common approach to the European Union’s climate change policy and the idea of a fuel tax is supported by a number of countries, including France.

The Commission has suggested a rate of up to €30 per tonne of CO₂.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “It makes sense for us to be taxed on the CO₂ for which we are responsible, but such a carbon tax must be applied to every activity if it is to be effective and fair.”

Comment: A carbon tax must be equitable

The government has said repeatedly that motorists must pay for the adverse effects they have on climate change. Of course we should. However, why do we motorists have to pay a tax of around £600 for each ton of CO₂ we produce yet industry and commerce only have to pay a tax of £6 a ton?

If the tax was allocated fairly then petrol prices would drop by over 30 pence a litre. How can the government justify charging motorists 100 times as much as everyone else? Such a disparity is bad for motorists, our transport system and for the environment. Everybody loses.